Album review: 'Outside the Pyramid,' by Rocky Marsiano

Monday

Mar 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMMar 30, 2009 at 9:43 AM

The name Rocky Marciano probably strikes a chord with old-school boxing historians, but there's a much younger Rocky on the block. He spells the surname differently ("Marsiano"), he's from Europe, and using '40s-'50s orchestra and jazz instrumentation as a jumping-off point, he builds an impressive album of quirky, slightly-dark instrumentals that could serve as the backing for any number of rappers.

Patrick Varine

The name Rocky Marciano probably strikes a chord with old-school boxing historians and fans of Eddie Murphy's "Coming to America" ("Rocky Marciano! Rocky Marciano! Every time I talk about Cassius Clay, some white-boy gotta bring up Rocky Marciano! Muhammad Ali was 122 years old when he fought Rocky Marciano!!").

But there's a much younger Rocky on the block. He spells the surname differently ("Marsiano"), and he's from Europe, but those boxing historians will likely find a few familiar sounds over the course of "Outside the Pyramid."

Using '40s-'50s orchestra and jazz instrumentation as a jumping-off point, Rocky Marsiano builds an album full of quirky, slightly-dark instrumentals that could serve as the backing for any number of rappers, from MF Doom (whose ashy flow would work wonders atop "Echoes from the Pyramid") to De La Soul (the samba guitar and sqeaky melody of "Break 'Em Off!") and Wu-Tang Clan (Marsiano takes a snatch of the same sample Rza used for "Tearz" on "Marsiano Strut").

And not content to settle for what could be considered a demo for attracting rappers' attention, Marsiano inserts breaks, both instrumental and percussive, to keep things from staying the same too long.